


Three Things Peter Knows For Sure

by Rachaelizame



Series: Autistic Neal Caffrey [1]
Category: White Collar
Genre: And the first rule about me, Autism, Autistic Character, Autistic Neal Caffrey, Family Feels, Family Secrets, Gen, Kid Fic, My First Work in This Fandom, Secrets, is I love kidfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 10:41:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14913861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rachaelizame/pseuds/Rachaelizame
Summary: 1. Neal Caffrey is and always will be a criminal.2. Elizabeth is the best thing to even happen to Peter.3. Neal is not a “family man.”While 2 certainly is true, one and three might need a little wiggle room.





	Three Things Peter Knows For Sure

**Author's Note:**

> New to this fandom, though this isn’t technically my first work in it. And I love kid fics. If that’s not your jam, go ahead and skip this, but I love them and write them all the time. So here’s my first, and probably not last White Collar kidfic. I also love secrets and their fallout so I made her a secret child. Because it’s my fic and I can.

Élodie Thomas colored her picture very determinedly. When she’d completed her depiction of a coconut, she proudly presented it to her daddy.

“Hey, sweet girl. What’s this?” Neal Caffrey asked.

“Picture for you! It’s a coconut!”

“Oh, thanks, baby girl.” Neal hugged her and turned to Maria Thomas. “Coconut?”

“Yeah, that’s been a big phase recently. Everything round is a coconut.” Maria commented. Then she got back to her point. “You need to be more careful, you and Kate both. You think you can just keep going like this, and you can’t.”

Maria had been in the business as well, until she nearly got burned a year after Élodie was born. Now she’d retired, taking her savings and buying a small fabric store where she worked to pay the bills.

Neal, her and Kate had been together for a few nights back when. Neal and Kate had never been exclusive, but they liked to share. That sharing one day ended up with Maria pregnant.

It wasn’t worth dwelling on how Neal had initially reacted, though that wasn’t to say it was a bad reaction. What mattered though, was that he tried his best to be a father to Élodie. He was surprisingly good at it, despite the occasional bad advice and strange encounter with Uncle Moz.

Élodie was three now, turning four in a few months. Maria didn't want her to grow up without at least the occasional visit from her father. If Neal ended up in prison, that’s exactly what would happen.

It wasn’t exactly public knowledge that Élodie was Neal’s child. Neal played dangerous games, and Maria hadn’t wanted to attract that kind of attention to her kid, even when she’d been in the business. So no name for the father on the birth certificate, no official custody policy, and, should Neal end up in prison, it was agreed there would be no visits. Maria wasn’t sure she’d let her daughter visit a prison anyway.

The only thing that tied them together was her name and coloring. Élodie had Neal’s skin tone and dark hair, and Maria’s hazel eyes. And the name was mainly Neal’s choice. Maria had had veto power, but she felt it only fair to give him something.

Kate never came to these visits. It was not out of jealousy, but the simply fact that she had never wanted children, and wanted nothing to do with this one until she was older. Then, she’d be content to be “cool aunt Kate” but until then she didn’t want to disturb family time.

Neal was currently watching Élodie line her blocks up before stacking them as high as she could reach.

“Here, baby.” Neal got up and helped her stack them higher.

“I’ll be fine, Maria. You worry too much.”

“I’m a mom. It’s my job to worry too much.”

-

But it turned out Maria wasn’t worrying too much. Neal was, of course, arrested.

-

Four years later, Neal called up the old phone number he’d memorized.

“Hey, Maria. How’s it going?”

“Neal. I thought you were still in for three more months.”

“Long story. I’d like to visit.”

“You didn’t escape, did you?”

“No. Well, I’m out legally in any case.”

“Alright. Then, yeah, we can meet up.”

“Great. Bring Élodie and meet me at…” Neal mentioned the name of a nearby park that was in his radius.

“Of course, Neal. I’ll be there, say tomorrow at six?”

“Sounds great.”

-

When Neal arrived in the park, he found Maria and Élodie quickly. He couldn’t believe how much she’d grown in the nearly four years he’d been locked away. Élodie was clearly uncertain around him. He couldn’t blame her. She hadn’t seen him in four years, and who knew what she could remember still of that time.

“Hey, Élodie. I’m your dad.”

“Ellie. Call me Ellie.” Ellie said quietly. Neal his his disappointment at the name change easily and grinned his most genuine smile.

“Nice to see you again. How’s school going?”

Élodie smiled at him at that, and began to speak a bit about her friends and school subjects she enjoyed, art being one she’d apparently inherited an interest in from him. She enjoyed drawing, but more than that, she was a talented writer for her age group at school.

Neal then asked about her hobbies and she lit up.

“I like writing and reading. My favorite is Nancy Drew.”

“Detectives, alright. You know, I’m working with a detective, of a sort. I’m a consultant with the FBI now.”

“Mommy said you were in prison.”

“Ellie!”

“I was,” Neal looked Ellie in the eyes until she looked away. “Are you upset about that?”

“I’m upset that you left.” Ellie was rather a straightforward girl.

“I’m sorry.” Neal said, because he knew he couldn’t promise he wouldn’t leave again.

-

Ellie was sent off to get herself some ice cream while Neal and Maria caught up quickly. Neal explained his situation to her and she told him more about Ellie.

“She’s a total mystery nerd, and she loves puzzles. And… there’s something else I should tell you about her. A few years ago, we got her tested. Her teachers recommended it. She autistic.”

“Okay. So?” Neal answered. He was almost pleased with that. Something they had in common despite the years apart.

“You don’t understand Neal. It’s a struggle mot days to get her ready for the day. Sometimes, she’ll go days without brushing her hair. Once she went weeks without doing it. And she hates showers and certain foods and textures… it’s rough.”

“She’s still Élo- Ellie.”

“You don’t get it. Of course you don’t. Because you’re just a criminal, whereas I’m a full time mother.”

“Maria… we can deal with this. Tell you what. If she gets to be too much some days, call me. I’ll bring her to my place.”

“Fine. But you need to be prepared to handle her. Call me this weekend and I’ll give you a crash course in Ellie.”

-

Neal met up with them in a restaurant this time, rushing into the place late. It was surprisingly hard to fit family time around FBI time. He had to respect Peter all the more for making his marriage work with that schedule.

“Sorry I’m late. Work.” He flashed them a charming smile as he arrived.

“No worries. Perfect lesson. Ellie likes schedule. She’s not too obsessed with it, but she is disappointed when things don’t go as she expects.”

Sure enough, Ellie was pouting- adorably- down at the table.

“Sorry, Ellie. I was very busy, but I’m here now, and I want to see you.”

Ellie pouted for a while longer, before her head came back up and she smiled at Neal.

“Okay, Daddy.”

Neal’s heart nearly stopped in his chest at her form of address. He hid it well and smiled back.

“Lesson number two. Ellie’s a picky eater.” Maria turned to Ellie. “What do you want to eat, sweetheart?”

“Pancakes!”

“She always wants pancakes.” Maria said in an aside to Neal. “If you don’t already have pancake mix, better buy some.”

“Alright, so she samefoods. Fine.” Neal said. Maria raised an eyebrow. “You think I wouldn’t do my research? I know the commonly used terms.”

That wasn’t strictly true. Neal knew that because he was autistic himself, but he didn’t often get a good response to sharing that, and figured it could wait for later.

They kept talking about Ellie’s various difficulties until lunch came. Then they moved on to more pleasant topics, like Ellie’s hobbies and interests and Neal and Maria’s work.

-

When Neal arrived at the FBI office the next day, he decided not to tell anyone who he’d been with the day before. He only trusted Peter so far, and Peter wouldn’t get why he wanted to keep it under wraps. Turning fed was even more dangerous than being a high-stakes criminal, and he didn’t trust these guys yet to watch over Ellie if things went south.

Peter, he maybe could tell, but Peter would talk to the others in the office at least. Besides, Neal may trust him to a degree, but with his daughter’s life? He wasn’t sure they were there yet.

So Ellie remained his and Maria’s secret.


End file.
